The present invention relates to an autonomous mobile robot apparatus, which can smoothly moves within traffic of humans and/or robots, and it also relates to a method for avoiding from rush-out collision thereof.
In recent years, differing from the conventional industrial robots, a large number of developments are made on robots to be utilized in a life of a human being or person, such as, an office robot, a pet robot, etc. Those robots, not provided fixedly, but conduct jobs, such as, a guidance job, a carrying job, and/or a guard job, etc., while autonomously moving around within a house or an office. When they move around, autonomously, they must move without colliding on a person and/or articles, for the safety thereof.
Conventionally, with provision of means for detecting the person and/or articles, for example, an ultrasonic sensor and/or a laser radar, etc., a route is changed to take a long way around an obstacle when detecting that obstacle, such as, the person and/or articles, for example, in a short distance. However, there is a possibility that a moving obstacle, as well as, the robot takes the way around or detours in the same direction when it also tries to avoid or escape from the robot, and in such case, they are unable to escape from each other. Further, if they try to change the way around into the reverse direction for the purpose of avoiding, but at the same timing, then they are also unable to avoid the collision, and during this time period, they come close to each other too much, then the moving obstacle and the robot must decelerate or stop for the purpose of avoiding the collision on each other.
For example, in the following Patent Document 1 is disclosed a technology, wherein an infrared sensor, being provided for detecting infrared rays irradiating from an obstacle, determines on whether the obstacle is a person or not, and there is provided a means for bringing the robot into a condition of waiting for a predetermined while stopping if determining that it is a person, waiting for the person to go away from an advancing direction, and if going away, then the robot starts the movement thereof, again.
Also, in the following Patent Document 2 is disclosed a technology, relating to an automobile, but differing from the present invention, wherein collision is estimated with a moving article jumping or rushing out from a dead angle for a driver, and thereby executing a drive assisting control.
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. Hei 9-185412 (1997); and
[Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2006-260217 (2006).